


No more, Not now

by tinkalaphey



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-13 14:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19253023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkalaphey/pseuds/tinkalaphey
Summary: “I told you,” Thor’s voice was thick. “I told you you’d die for that.”Loki survived the throes of Thanos once, twice, but he had such little charm left for the third time around.





	1. Thor

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, everything proceeds as usual in Infinity War, but instead of Loki dying to Thanos during the beginning, he lives to battle alongside Thor for the remainder of the movie. I'd say he's redeemed by that point, wouldn't you?
> 
> Also, who's excited for all the upcoming Marvel series?  
> It's truly a blessed time to be alive.

“Thor, you oaf – !” Loki shouted from beside Vision’s body.

Loki was too late. The heavens rained down on Thanos in electric blue, knocking him back. Thor rushed towards Thanos, unseeing, lightning crackling at every inch of his body. He reared his mighty axe, summoning all the power he had within him, every tear shed for the fallen, and slammed it into the Mad Titan’s chest with the force of a grieving son, friend, partner.

For a moment, the world was quiet in favour of his screams.

“I told you,” Thor’s voice was thick. “I told you you’d die for that.”

Thanos breathed deeply, laboured, head inclined in defeat. His eyes slid closed as he bowed forwards. Thor felt the corners of his mouth twitch at the sight. Bowing before him, pathetically, the being that proclaimed himself amongst the gods themselves.

The confidence was shattered with the intensity of two small eyes that rose up to bore into him.

“You,” Thanos said. “You should’ve gone for the head.”

The gauntlet raised, metal scraping against metal, and a snap cleared the noise.  
There was nothing but bright light.

Then it cleared.

“What did you do?” Thor asked roughly. Met with silence, he rose his voice, knuckles white against Thanos. _“What did you do?”_

“Salvation,” Loki muttered behind him.

The trees shook with fear, the wind howled in anguish, and the silence that followed deafened all those around. The tension was thick in the air, as they all waited with baited breaths for what was to follow. Thanos, contented, fell backwards into an unearthly cloud of blue, leaving the axe once embedded in his chest fallen, broken, tinted with purple remains.

Thor stared at the axe grimly. He could feel his brother beside him, a firm hand placed on his shoulder, an attempt at comfort that felt more like fire than warmth. He had failed. His one chance to end it, avenge all lost on the journey, and he’d failed on account of a simple misjudgment.

“Where did he go?” Steve broke the silence. His movements were stiff and heavy, gravity weighing down his once proud shoulders. “Thor – where did he go?”

“Steve.”

Steve turned around to face the voice. Bucky stepped towards him, gun clasped in hand, only for the touch to fade as dust replaced skin. He opened his mouth, as if he say something, plea, apologise, reconcile, but it was cut short as his knees buckled, his body collapsed. His dust blanketed the forest floor. Steve gingerly moved over, and leaned down to press his fingertips against it, as if he would feel a pulse. He looked to Thor solemnly.

Thor pried his eyes away from the scene, the grip on his shoulder tightened, then melted away as if it were never there. The world fell still around him. He turned his head, tentatively; he did not wish to see the reality that awaited him.

His brother refused to meet his eyes, no matter how hard Thor searched. His skin patched a gentle, elegant blue, his eyes a deep red that had once seemed so satanic compared to Thor’s own. Loki reached for his shoulder with his remaining hand, then clasped the nape of his neck, as he collapsed forwards into his chest. He pressed his cheek against Thor’s beating heart. He was cold, so awfully cold, as freezing as Jotunheim itself. Thor felt as if his skin was to melt from his body. 

“No, no, please –“ Thor whispered, desperate, praying, a scream long dulled by the agony of quiet. “Please, Loki, no more illusions, not now.” He combed through matted, greasy hair as he pushed his brother closer, squeezing him, uncaring of the pain, trying to see that green magic flicker away, to reveal what was not there. His arms burnt, his armour chilling against his body, but damn if he was to let go. Damn if he wasn’t to hold Loki close to his heart, to show him that despite that icy exterior he feared so much, he was no less warm than the love he so desperately craved.

Loki finally looked up, to allow his soul to be bared. Thor saw no trickery, no mischief, no villainy, no envy – he saw a child. A frightened, lost child that he’d tried so hard to see all the years. He saw the shining, golden armour and intuitive green eyes, ready for another adventure, the voice as smooth and charming as a snake, yet no less sincere when whispered amongst the stars. He saw the eyes of a young prince, scorned by the family he once thought he knew. 

He saw Loki, son of none, but brother. Always brother; brother to Thor.

“It is all right, brother.” Loki smiled, sincerely, as Thor watched the ice defrost beneath his own warm flesh. Frigid fingers gently brushed the scars that ran down his cheek, then disappeared, left Thor with hushed, ghostly words. "I've no more illusions for you."


	2. Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, I get much more carried away writing Loki than I do with Thor.  
> Sorry, buddy, I don't love you any less! :-)

There was a whirring in the wind, a sound Loki knew all too well.

“Thor, you oaf – !” He shouted into the air, kneeled beside the fallen robot.

It was too late; it had been too late from the moment Thor laid eyes on Thanos. Loki watched on as electricity surged through his brother’s veins, pooling into that dastardly axe. He assumed onlookers would rejoice, root and cheer on Thor, but Loki knew better than that. He knew Thanos would not succumb so easily. In a game of chess, he was always twenty steps ahead.

Thanos screams were empty upon Loki’s ears. He swore, faintly, he could hear the gentle click of a clock.

“I told you,” Thor said, grievous but still holding a shard of his former confidence. “I told you you’d die for that.”

Loki rose from the soil, a hand carefully stretched out as he walked towards the two. He was light on his feet, but at that instance every step cracked louder than the last. The heavy breaths of the titan died down, and he _knew_ he heard the sickening sound of satisfaction chime on those scarred lips. Thor was a fool, and it was going to cost them everything.

Them, he considered with a bitter smile. How long it has been since that word was used in such an inclusive light for Loki.

“You,” Thanos said. “You should’ve gone for the head.”

The golden gauntlet raised, and Loki ceased his movements. His eyes drank in the sight of Thor, battle-ready against the titan, prideful even in his loss, as every King should be. Loki’s arms dropped and his hands intertwined beneath his green cape.

The crack was just as the visions had suggested. It was deafening, designed to lull the life of the universe into a collective, dreadful silence. Thanos had said that the gauntlet would fulfil the desires of that who wielded it, as vague or specific as they may be.

While half of the universe was a vague request, the defiant child with failure heavy at his heels was not. As the light cleared and the air settled, Thanos looked through the God of Thunder, and looked into the God of Lies.

“What did you do?” Thor asked. His voice was on the verge of a break, the precious child that he was. _“What did you do?”_

“Salvation,” Loki breathed, though he knew the answer fell on deaf ears.

A portal opened up behind Thanos, and Loki allowed himself to look into those anguished eyes one last time. He could not find it within himself the share the sentiment, spare a single feeling for the one who had burdened him with a purpose far richer than the Void. Without him, he would be falling forever, though as the events transpired Loki decided he would not have minded such a fate.

Thor was downcast, eyes fixed on the axe. Loki warily approached his back, and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. The armour would’ve been cold against his fair skin, but Loki found he had numbed shortly after the snap.

“Where did he go?” The captain broke the silence, his footsteps heavy on the ground. Loki suspected he was not just battle-worn. “Thor – where did he go?”

“Steve.”

Loki dared not turn his head, but Thor, as nosy as he was, watched the scene intently. He could not be blamed, as could any of them; they didn’t know what the snap had caused. He heard a quiet whistle disappear with the wind, and all doubts became null.

Desperate, he gave Thor’s shoulder a gentle squeeze through the worn armour, as much as he could muster. Both to satiate his mind, and to let his brother know of his company for the brief moment it remained. But the first pillar had fallen, and as his fingertips gracefully melted away, he knew he was to be the second.

Thor’s breath hitched, and his face wore an unreadable expression. He didn’t turn his head, but Loki kept his stare fixed, a silent plea to be met and answered. His mouth could never form the sentence, his hand could never comfortably rest and push on those rough cheeks. His poisonous green eyes were the only words he had left to weave.

Then, as Thor turned his head, he felt that childish need melt away with the chilling ice of a truth, spreading over his flesh like an infection. His woven words disappeared within the depths of a glacier. He dipped his head instinctively, before his brother could catch a glimpse of the truth in his exposed eyes. He dipped his head like an obedient dog.

But as Thor began the quietest of cries, Loki felt something other than scorn.

_“You’ll always be the God of Mischief,” Thor had said, looking down on him with amusement. Underneath that, there was a layer of regret. “But you could be more.”_

Loki reached for his brother’s shoulder with his whole hand, reaching too high and clasping the nape of his neck instead. He kept his head down. “No, no, please –“ Thor whispered harshly.

_“You should know that when we fought eachother in the past,” Thor had said, looking down on him with disgust. Underneath that, there was a layer of regret. “I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere.”_

“Please, Loki, no more illusions, not now.” Loki collapsed forward as his body numbed, and rested his cheek gently against the armoured chest. Even through the thick metal, he could hear the rapid beat of his brother’s heart. Even through the thick metal, he could feel his unearthly temperature chilling Thor’s flesh. Yet, he could not bring himself to pull away.

_“Always so perceptive,” Frigga had said, voice as comforting as the crisp pages of a spellbook. She looked at him with nothing but regret as she spoke, “of everyone but yourself.” He had tried to take her hands, unknowing that it would be the last time he ever would._

He could feel Thor clawing at his skin, trying to reach through the magic that was not there. Finally, Loki allowed his shields to lower, and rose his head to look his brother in the eye. He said no words, not even with his vision, but rather images, memories. He shared what he had tried so hard to forget since his fall through the Void. He mirrored Thor’s gorgeous blue eyes with shades of red. He had always adored the way tales danced about in his brother’s eyes.

“It is all right, brother,” he said softly. He smiled, a true smile, knowing that despite all his regrets, his last moments would be clearing the one regret that wore him like an armour made of lead. He moved his hand to brush against the scars that ran down Thor’s cheek, traced them like the finest paintings he had ever saw. But as fleeting as the touch was, Thor’s sobs were drowned out by a gentle whistle as his world faded.

His lips parted, barely, before they faded to dust, allowing the faintest of whispers to escape.

“I've no more illusions for you.”


End file.
